Friday, January 17, 2014

Ever After High "Cerise Hood"

This review is meant as a companion to my C.A. Cupid review. I couldn't decide between Cerise and Cupid when I was browsing all of the new Ever After High dolls at the store, so I decided to get both of them and pass on the newer Monster High dolls--at least for now. I would say that, in general, I am much more of a Monster High fan, but I guess the newness of the Ever After High line still intrigues me. I am curious to see how this line will evolve.

Cerise really stood out from the crowd at the store. Her face mold is completely new and she has exotic coloring, with light brown vinyl and vivid grey-blue eyes:

Ever After High "Cerise Hood."

Cerise's packaging is decorated with dark maroon accents. The box is probably decorated in this color because Apple White stole the red color scheme, but I think the darker color is very pretty and sophisticated.

Cerise's packaging is otherwise just like Cupid's--very easy to manage with lightweight cardboard and a keyhole opening in the back to show where the stand is stored:

The cartoon drawings of Cerise are very nice, but they show her wearing a maroon cape instead of the blazing red cape she's actually wearing. I wish the cape was dark like the picture. It's very flattering. Also, notice that the cape perfectly matches the dress in these pictures. The doll's dress and cape do not match this nicely.

Cerise is the name of a deep reddish pink color, which I suppose makes the color palette of the doll a good fit.

Cerise is the daughter of Red Riding Hood, but the short biography on the back of the box describes how her father's identity is a big secret:

Cerise's responses to the interview questions give away who her dad is, though. I mean, she's drawn to the "leader of the pack," she's a "lone wolf," she hides her ears under her hood, she has the "speed and enhanced senses of her father"...a father who could get in "big bad" trouble if his identity was revealed.

I think I get the hints.

Daughter of the Big Bad Wolf.

So, here's the thing; I'm not sure how I feel about Cerise being the daughter of the Big Bad Wolf. That's very Monster High....and definitely odd. Is Cerise going to be a crossover character like Cupid, but in the opposite direction?

Another thing that bothers me is that I didn't know Cerise was half lupine when I bought her, and I made a very different assumption at the store. For some reason Cerise reminds me of the gorgeous actress Hannah Simone, who co-stars on the TV show, New Girl. Ms. Simone is half Indian, and so this association made me assume that the doll was Indian, too. This is one of the reasons I scooped her up so quickly--I always like to see ethnic diversity in mainstream dolls. I guess in retrospect it doesn't make a lot of sense that the daughter of Riding Hood would be Indian...but let's just say, from a biological standpoint anyway, that a woodsman from India makes more sense than a wolf.

Now when I look at Cerise's elegant nose, I see that the designers were trying to make it look like the muzzle of a wolf. Frankly, it looks more cat-like to me. A wolf would have a much bigger nose.

My photo session with Cerise got off to a rocky start. First of all, Cerise is terrible at standing up on her own. She fell over three seconds after this picture was taken:

Also, this doll comes with a lot of accessories strapped all over her with clear rubber bands, and this makes it hard to tell what's going on. She has jewelry tied to her right hand, and a basket tied to her left hand. The red cape is made out of very stiff fabric and it's tied to her chest. Some of her hair is tied to one arm, and more of her hair sticks awkwardly out the back of her hood. Her hood is plastic-tied to her head.

All of this makes her very immobile and awkward right out of the box.

This is after the bands holding the jewelry were removed,
but look at the plastic tie in the top of her hood.

I got to work de-cluttering the doll. Her ring is tiny and fairly plain:

None of these accessories really grabbed my attention or made me smile. I just set them aside and moved on.

The plastic tie in Cerise's hood is attached to a clear plastic liner inside the hood. The tie leaves a hole in the hood when it is removed.

I guess the plastic liner is there to help the hood keep its shape, but this seems unnecessary given how stiff the hood fabric is.

Do I seem crabby? I was definitely a little crabby with this doll at first. Things got better once I got all of the accessories removed. The hood of the cape is stiffer than I'd like, and the color is too fire-engine-red for my taste, but the design of the cape is neat.

The red hood has a big hole in the back for Cerise's hair. I don't love this, but I also don't see a great alternative.

The cape is made out of a silky print and is gathered at the bottom into a bubble hem:

The print is a mix of red, pink, black and grey and it has an abstract tree design. It seems Asian in inspiration, but the spooky silhouettes also make me think of Little Apple dolls.

The cape is lined with a red mesh that is pulled tight to hold the shape of the gathered hem:

The cape is held closed with a silver vinyl clasp, molded to look like links of chain:

The cape is almost extremely cool. I just wish that it was a slightly toned-down shade of red and that the hood was made out of a fabric with more drape and drama. I mean, a cape is a wonderful, high-octane accessory, and I think it should be given top design priority. The fact that Cerise Hood's worst wardrobe component is her hood...well, that's just sad.

Without the bulky cape, Cerise balances a little better, but it's still not great.

The red in her dress does not seem as bright as the red of the cape's hood. Maybe it's because there is so much black mixed into her outfit.

Cerise has straight-cut bangs with a white streak of hair at the front of her head. Overall, her hair is long and brown with some shaggy layering at the ends:

Cerise's hair brushes out easily, but it's pretty scraggly at the ends.

A few large clumps of hair hung off the bottom of my doll's hair and some of those clumps pulled right out of the head. The strays hairs that didn't pull out were easy to trim with scissors.

Cerise's hair is very different in texture from Cupid's fluffy locks. It's much smoother, with a little bit of shine and some movement. It's not fantastic hair fiber, though--or at least it's hard to see its full potential with so much styling goop. The entire top third of Cerise's hair is plastered with some kind of hair-taming product. It would probably be very difficult to keep the bangs under control if they weren't plastered down like this, but I still think I'll probably give the hair a good wash.

When I was shopping, there were three Cerise dolls to choose from. One of them had shorter bangs, and I didn't like that look as much. I really like the length of my doll's bangs, but the cut is crooked. The bangs also block a clear view of Cerise's eyebrows:

I tried to pull the bangs away from Cerise's eyes to give you a good look at her face paint and the shape of her head. It was tricky to get all of the stiff little strands of hair out of the way:

You can see that she has nice thick brown eyebrows with a little bit of texture towards the middle edge:

I love the color of Cerise's eyes. They are slate blue with a lighter blue highlight. The silver and lavender eyeshadow sets off these eyes beautifully.

After learning she was part wolf, I expected Cerise's ears to be on the top of her head like Clawdeen's... or at least for them to be larger and more dog-like. I'm not sure why she hides them away--they look pretty normal to me. I agree with Panthera that these are a little disappointing:

They're not even fully pierced.

You say you're part wolf, girl, but I'm just not buying it.

Cerise's nose is her most distinct feature. I love that it isn't the typical barely-there button nose that most dolls have these days. I think her nose is shown off best in half-profile:

Here it is up close:

Cerise's mouth is a little different from the other Ever After High mouths, too. Her lower lip juts out a bit, although it has the traditional triple dot decoration. Her lips are painted a nice natural light rose color.

My doll has a shiny area around her upper lip and some debris stuck in her lip paint, but these aren't glaring flaws.

Doesn't the texture of the vinyl almost look like real skin?

I put one of the Tonner City Girls' hats on Cerise to keep her bangs out of her face for some comparison shots.

Not a bad look for her.

Cerise has a very round face, but I think her nose and eyes help divert attention from this.

Of the Ever After High dolls I own, Apple and Cupid share a face mold, and Ashlynn has a different face. I'll show you Cerise with Apple, since you just saw Cupid:

First of all, Cerise's eyes are really well aligned when compared to Apple. Frankly, Apple looks a little ridiculous next to Cerise. Even if I try not to notice Apple's crooked eyes, I vastly prefer Cerise's appearance to Apple's. Everything from the eyebrows to the color of the eyes and lips is better on Cerise--in my opinion.

The nose shapes don't look as different in profile, but you can see that the bridge of Cerise's nose isn't concave at all. The ear differences are also clear from this view. Cerise has what I would call half-elf ears. I like the shape, even if they aren't very wolfy.

Ashlynn and Cerise have the same color vinyl, which I think makes other things about them easier to compare. These dolls have more similarities than Apple and Cerise. Their eyebrows are the exact same shape, but Ashlynn is missing the little textural details. They also both have pouty lower lips and a slight overbite. It's harder for me to pick a favorite from these two. I like certain little things better on one or the other. for example, I prefer Cerise's lip color, but I love Ashlynn's sweet smile and bright green eyes.

Here are their profiles:

When I was done with these face comparisons, I released Cerise's bangs, and was happy to see that all of my manipulating had relaxed some of the gel clumps. I think the hair looks much more natural like this, and the uneven areas are not as apparent:

Cerise's dress has a plaid bodice, lacy half sleeves, and an asymmetrical skirt made out of two layers of gathered black tulle.

A large brown vinyl belt breaks up the plaid section of the skirt. The belt is painted with some silver accents, including some chain loops and three belt buckles:

The belt opens and closes in back with the help of two small pegs:

The belt is very large and brown, and I think I prefer the look of the dress without it:

Maybe I'd like it more if the belt was just silver chains? Hm.

The red plaid fabric is pretty stiff, and so the dress holds its shape even when it's off the doll:

I am not sure what this fabric is--it has a knit pattern on the front, but feels a little rough. It has a white fuzzy backing that reminds me of a vinyl tablecloth:

The lacy fabric in the sleeves has a little bit of metallic silver in it. These sleeves are delicate (the doll's hands have to be removed for dressing) but I like how the silver threads mirror the silver in Cerise's belt and cape.

I think the tulle ruffles are great:

Cerise is wearing shimmery grey leggings and brown boots:

The boots have molded laces and buckles, and they even have some silver painted detail in the belt buckles:

I wish the boots helped the doll stand a little better.

The grey tights have an elasticized waist and no feet:

They have an interesting pattern when you look at them up close:

Cerise is taller than my other Ever After High dolls (if you try to ignore Ashlynn and Apple's big hair):

The height difference is entirely due to the lower legs. All of the dolls have identical bodies except for the lower leg pieces. I wonder if it's the longer leg that throws Cerise's balance?

Because Cerise's torso is the same as the other Monster High dolls, she can share their clothing...the dresses are just a little short. She can also share shoes with the other dolls.

She stands better in Cupid's shoes.

I wondered if Cerise might be about the same size as the tall Monster High doll, Headmistress Bloodgood. Actually, Bloodgood is quite a bit taller!

I checked to see if the dolls have the same lower leg mold, but they do not. The shapes are extremely similar, but Cerise's legs are more slender:

It was at this point during the photo shoot that I noticed my hands felt a little wet--just a tiny little bit wet. I often wash my hands before I handle the dolls, so I went and dried them again and hurried back to take more pictures. Then my hands got wet again. I examined Cerise a little more closely and saw this:

Water on the knee.

She had water leaking out of both of her knee joints. How weird is that?? I have owned a lot of Monster High dolls, and quite a few Ever After High dolls, and just a lot of dolls in general...and I have never seen anything like this before.

I have to admit that I had a brief moment of wondering, amI sure this is water? And, as I'm going through my mental list of clear, toxic chemicals, I thought maybe my throat was tightening up or there was a mild tingling in my left leg that hadn't been there before. But that's just me-- it was definitely water. However, I don't have any idea why it was leaking out of my doll's legs.

So, I called Mattel to see if they had any insight about this. They were super-concerned and helpful (the dolls are completely non-toxic) and they wanted to send me a new doll and have the old doll returned to them for inspection. I figured the water would leak out or dry up by the time I packed her for shipping, and then I'd have to wait a week for another doll, so I declined their offer.

The woman who was helping me wondered if the water might be from condensation. This hypothesis makes some sense given how cold it was last week and how warm it is now. Or maybe the dolls get rinsed off at the end of the manufacturing process and this one wasn't dried completely? I just don't know.

In any case, it's fine now--the doll is totally dry and there's no way it could have been anything bad, but I did find it fascinating. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this.

I will end the review by showing you some of my favorite pictures of Cerise. I found her to be a tricky doll to photograph. Her cape does not move around as dramatically as I had hoped, and there's something about her coloring that doesn't agree with my camera, but I still think she's a great-looking doll...and she can, indeed, run fast like her father:

Bottom line? Cerise had a few surprises in store for me. First of all, I was slow to learn that she is the daughter of the Big Bad Wolf. I think this detail makes her as much like a Monster High character as an Ever After High student, and I wonder if there are any plans to take advantage of this crossover. Second, while Cerise wowed me in the box, it took a while for me to warm up to her once I got her out of the box. A lot of this is because it took time and effort to get her stripped of her accessories so that I could see her best qualities. Last, this doll had water in her knee joints, which is a strange occurrence that I can't seem to explain.

In my eyes, Cerise's biggest weaknesses are her stiff cape hood and her inability to stand on her own. Admittedly, these are not huge complaints, but both of them significantly delayed the time it took from when I got Cerise out of her box to when I could start appreciating her. The cape has a neat design, but the fabric is a glaring, gaudy red, and the fabric is so stiff that I find it very awkward to use. Cerise does come with a stand, but for me, the ability to stand alone is one of the things I adore about most Monster High and Ever After High dolls, so it was sad to see this trait missing. I'm not sure if it's Cerise's longer legs, her shoes, or her wolf genes that throw off her balance. I also think Cerise's accessories are fairly drab--especially when compared to Cupid's entertaining wings and bow.

To me, Cerise's biggest strengths are her face mold, her coloring, and the fact that she's wearing a non-frilly dress with a bit of a gothic edge. I am glad to see Mattel veer away from the repetitive dress code of the Ever After High line. Whatever her heritage, I love Cerise's distinct nose and new mouth shape. I also think her darker vinyl paired with blue-grey eyes is a stunning combination. While none of the Ever After High dolls are particularly realistic, Cerise strikes me as the most real of the bunch. She's a versatile doll with a lot of personality. Despite her wolf backstory, she could easily portray a regular, elegant young teen in any child's game.

I'll admit that I had more fun photographing Cupid, with her sparkling, frothy personality and dramatic accessories. However, Cerise has something new to add to the Ever After High series. Despite my frustration with some of this doll's flaws, I am glad to see the line moving in a direction that incorporates unconventional characters like Cerise.

59 comments:

Ugh....She actually has wolf ears in the cartoon. Maybe the Cerise Wolf doll will be better (I'm 80% sure that they'll be making a Cerise Wolf doll). Actually, what I was most excited about for this doll was that (I assumed) she had wolf ears and that she was Asian. The ears didn't happen and she looks just barley Asian in my opinion. Disappointment.-A

I see Mattel releasing initial versions of each character, and gathering feedback from the dolls' flaws. Like everybody saying Cerise needed her ears, maybe with her next doll (because we all know each character will definitely be getting more and more dolls like MH) they might incorporate that feedback into the changes. The first doll of each character is more so how Mattel thought they should look the first time around, and now that people actually own these dolls, the second versions can reflect how the fans actually want them to look. I am excited to see the many different iterations of Cerise. Or how many alternate styles/ways Cerise will use her cape and hood in her new ensembles. My theory is that no matter what new style she wears her hood and cape will somehow be added into the look. Because it's her signature accessory. Cerise without a hood?

Yay your review is up! I agree that cerise's coloring is among my favorites, and i'd love to see her cross over to monster high. That wet knee is pretty weird, never seen anything like it before. I love her outfit, but in my opinion she looks better without the hood. Great review as always! Looking forward to your review of Midge.

Disappointment struck me when I first saw Cerise, something about her is just not right. I can't point out what it is though, probably her facemold? I don't know. I'm just not crazy about her facemold. :/ However, I cannot wait to see her Legacy Day version. I love her look on that one better. :) Awesome review Emily! :D

Mmm... Cerise being the daughter of the big bad wolf comes across as pretty weird to me (even in the MH and EAH world :-)). I do like Cerise's face very much. The design on the cape comes right out of a story booklet from a Little Apple doll indeed, that's why I like it I guess. The water in the doll is something I've never seen before! Thanks for this very detailed review Emily!

It's possible that Cerise's father, Big Bad Wolf, belongs to both Little Red Ridinghood and Three Little Pigs stories. I believe it has been implied somewhere in EAH canon that Hunter Huntsman has two stories as well; he's the hunter in both Snow White and Little Red Ridinghood. The same might very well apply to the wolf.

I agree Nymphaea... it is a little weird with her mother being little red riding hood and her father the big bad wolf... i mean come on... that's just not right O_o who knows what the children might be thinking or questioning. That's illegal where i come from...

Iiii, I got mentioned! ..Ahem.. Thank you for the thorough review. Your description of your first impressions of her reminds me of when I got Catty Noir. She was soo difficult to get out of the box, and even out she had loads of bands fastening her accessories. And her hair was a mess. I liked her, but she was a bit of a let down. Yesterday I gave her a boil wash (I'd been putting it off because of her intricate clothing), and she now looks amazing. So much happier with her now!

It would've been awesome if Cerise was Indian, though I'm not sure why she'd need to hide that, but then I have loads of icky questions about how in the world Big Bad and Hood made a baby.....Probably not what you had in mind with the review, but I made up my mind that she's not for me. It was seeing her without bangs and realizing she had the same round face as the others that really made me decide against her I think.Your detailed descriptions and shots really help show off the doll, both good and bad. I'm even more disappointed by her ears now, they're not even properly pointy!

My favourite parts of the whole doll is that belt and those boots weirdly enough. I might just look into buying them on ebay. So many details!Agree about her cape, and it's so sad, the decorations are so pretty!. Maybe if you remove the hood? (blasphemy, I know)

Love your shots of her "in motion". They really work for the doll, even the cape shot looks great.

What do you think of Groove's "Sasha" dolls? I'm totally, totally in love with Pippin and Nuna. When I first saw pics of them I only found them prized at a price point I'd never ever be able to afford, so I gave up the idea of ever owning one. But then I found them on Pullip Style for 98$. That's still really expensive for me, especially with int. shipping, but it is reachable with some saving. They're the first dolls where I've looked at their price tag and thought they were worth the investment (for me). I think it's the really intricate, detailed, historic clothing.I'm hoping to save a bit of money each month to be able to invest in one of them. Hopefully they won't sell out!

EAH's official story is that the Big Bad Wolf is a werewolf, which ought to make anyone who's really concerned about the notion of Red Riding Hood and the Wolf feel a bit better. (His ears are not atop his head like MH werewolves, though!) In the web series, Cerise's hood is bright red, as it is on the doll. A darker maroon color might have been a more flattering choice for her, though. She has such gorgeous coloring! (And in the web series, her ears are much more wolfy!)

Personally, I love Cerise from the web series, but just couldn't get past her patented EAH giant-wide head. I think if the doll's features were a bit larger, like a Pullip or Blythe, it wouldn't bother me so much. But the small features/large head combo is a bit off-putting to me. I've never heard of anyone having water leaking out of their dolls before, though! That's a new one! I'm also surprised that your doll had trouble standing. MH/EAH dolls have all been fantastic in the "stands alone" consideration from what I've seen and heard!

Personally, I really love this doll! Her coloring and facial features are -- to my thinking -- just beautiful! She's not the only EAH doll that I like ... they've been appealing to me lately probably just because they are different from the MH dolls and yet still have something of "mystery" about their expressions.

The water in the knees is just so weird... I would have freaked out about chemicals too :D

Still don't feel like this doll is for me. Maybe just because I enjoy the back-to-fairy tale-princesses-with-pimped-out-dresses aspect of EAH and Cerise has a different, more realistic style that I wasn't expecting. I still like her simple "leather" accessories though, they look like they could belong to Huntsman (she can't wear too much silver if she's part werewolf, can she?).

I wonder what's with the crossovers: first transfering Cupid, and now recycling the werewolf theme. It's like they're seeing EAH as MH's eventual successors/replacements and figuring out which characters and themes to keep.

She is so beautiful! I really can't decide if I like her or Cupid better. I'm a bit biased because my favorite fairy tale was always Little Red Riding Hood but Cupid is just so cute! Wonderful review. You have an excellent blog.

Cerise really does have a nice traditional could-be-a-normal-girl appeal that Apple doesn't have.Ashlyyn Ella has it too, but Cerise has more normal clothes.

In the cartoon Cerise's ears look great. like this http://www.flickr.com/photos/91886321@N05/9716661275/in/photolist-fNCqSF-hRaFAD-j8Joia-hydQL9-hRbaRs-hRatEV-hR9eL4-hR9ZZ2-hRbcHw-eyWcJU-hydFcE-hRbqQd-guUVLa-hsKkXD-hsKmgp-hR9jbX-hsKkTR-hR9gna-hyegqN-hRaxdr-hyfdNF-hR9Fno-hR9En9-hRbezC-hR9zn9-hR9JRB-gJK2rT-igpD7C-hYD692-hRaWWB-jhqgGE-hR99jx-jaqMe5-isoYQc-i7a7KD-izKZGC-i7abbB-i7aLPc-iZA67S-gZzRN4-hE23a9-hR8isz-hE35Mi-gv9XJb-iKfayH-gZzRFR-i9onEb-i7qYuB-i7qrKH-i7qAvj-i7quXd Hopefully Mattel will get lots of fan opinions on it and make the next Cerise have ears like that.

Oh boy, I was so excited to see this review up today! I adore anything related to LRRH and Cerise has been on the top of my playdoll wishlist since I heard about her...But that cape is a HUGE disappointment to me. I think that I would most likely just put it aside and forget about it, which is such a shame. I do like everything else about her though. I love her outfit, especially the skirt/tights/boots combo. I think that he face is beautiful and by far the most appealing of the EAH that I've seen. I am really uncomfortable with the concept that LRRH hooked up with the Big Bad Wolf. I just cannot conceive of how any sort of romance could come out of that. I immediately assume that poor Cerise must need therapy after a childhood with those two as parents. The fact that it is a secret just feeds into that story. She is still top of my list, but I am so grateful that I read you review first as otherwise I would have been disappointed. Thanks Emily. x

Another great review - I love reading your blog. I am not usually one to get too worked up about backstories on dolls. Generally they are just silly and fun, and aren't meant to hold up to much scrutiny. But I have to say there is something uncomfortable about Cerise being the child of Red Riding Hood and the wolf. Didn't the wolf eat her grandma before attacking Red Riding Hood? It might have been better for Mattel to say Cerise was Red Riding Hood's granddaughter - put some distance there and make it clear it wasn't the same Big Bad Wolf. I like that she is a bit unique from the other dolls, but the backstory would put me off purchasing for any of the girls in my life. As always, I look forward to your next review.

Hay! Just thought you might like to know she is indeed Red Riding Hood's daughter, it's just that in fiction the wolf married Red Riding Hood, and I know that sounds crazy but for an undisclosed reason all animal characters take human form in the EAH world.

Thank you for your great review, Emily!Overall, I like her and I plan on getting her. She was the first EAH doll to really appeal to me in person, and I love her black and red theme. I am a little disappointed that her ears aren't more "wolfy," but I like elves, so subtly-pointed ears are okay with me. :)I am, though, tempted to give her a haircut. In the cartoon, I'm pretty sure her hair is around shoulder-length or a little longer, which I think would work better with her hood. Having less weight with her hair may even help her balance better. :)

Hi Emily i'm kinda disappointed about her face. It looks to round to me compared to the monster highs. Maybe as they make more dolls they'll make the faces less round. I wonder what fairytale they'll make next.Great review

The water... Well when you wash it (or your hands) and the knee is open just a bit, the water gets in there. I think... It usualy happens to me and my sister when we wash her suprisingly Monster high like-articulated barbie...

I like the idea of Ever After High but I feel like they could have done so much more with them :S

On another note, I love your blog and me and my housemate read it all the time :D I bought two J-dolls after reading your reviews of them, oops. I think I remember reading you have BJDs and I'd love to see them in a post!

I have been lurking around for awhile, but so far I haven't posted. Now I have finally decided to step out of the shadows :) The first review I have read on your blog was that of Fab Faces Kennedy (I found it via a link at MLP Arena), and your writing style, spiced with the added fun&pun (I think I still love the comments under the pics the most) made me add your blog to my favourites immediately. At first I only read reviews I was interested in, but I quickly switched into "read them all"-mood :D I simply hove how detailed your reviews are. Your blog made me become very interested in dolls, and although I still don't consider myself a coll collector (and I try to stick to this - there are way too many things I collect already) there are definitely much more dolls and doll lines I love or even own now than when I first came here.

This father aspect in Cerise's story is a little strange to me. I always thought if Red Riding Hood was ever to have a child, the father would have been the Huntsman - but I can see how that could have made relations... well... 'complicated', given that we already have a son of the Huntsman in the line. But on the other hand, we don't know who Hunter's mother is (do we?), so that would still have made it possible for Cerise to be the daughter of the Huntsman - leaving only the family name issue complicated. It would have been interesting to see siblings introduced in this line (like in MH), but I guess it's not so easy here because of the "themed" family names.Is it only me who thinks Cerise has a disappointed, or even sad look? I do like it and her, but I still think it is an understandable choice why there aren't many (playline) dolls around whose expressions are on the "negative" side.

I love Cerise, it's totally funny that your reveiwing her and I just got her the other day. Cerise is my favorite EAH besides Raven. I just love Cerise's coloring and her face is the most special to me compared to the other EAH girls. My Cerise has a bit of a wobbly head..does yours? But it seems to be okay, She just seems to like to look up pretty easily. It's strange about the water in her knees, My Briar actually had water in one of her knees and it freaked me out, I thought maybe she was melting lol. I'm happy to see that she can share clothes with the others even though she's a bit taller than them. I too was disappointed that she didn't have wolf ears, but I knew when I got her that she wouldn't have them. I soo hope that she'll have a Legacy day release and a release with ears as well. I hope she doesn't have a MH cross over, I like her in the EAH world.

I like Cerise and her nose design is cute, but Ashlynn is still my favorite. The Big Bad Wolf as Cerise's father surprised me also but I guess it goes with the rebelling against tradition and expectations theme in the line. Her basket is really cute its disappointing that it does open though. I think she is one of the prettier dolls in the line. I wouldn't be surprised to see her incorporated into a MH crossover.Thanks again for another great review.

Hi Emily,Another great review! I initially bought Blondie and Cerise off Target.com in mid-December so I wouldn't have to deal with possibly not being able to find them for a while after Christmas when the toy aisles aren't as well stocked. At first, I wasn't that crazy about Cerise's face from pictures I had seen of her from other people who owned her. I got her more because it is my goal to have one of each of the basic characters from this series. I was surprised when I got her to find that I absolutely love her. The things that others have complained about, such as the light red hood, don't seem to bother me. Maybe I'm just overlooking it all because I'm just so happy that I like her face. I guess I just don't think she's very photogenic but very pretty in person. I have watched the webisodes and I thought it was kind of funny in a bizarre way that Cerise's father is the Big Bad Wolf. However, I have a weird sense of humor.

Great review! If you haven't already I would encourage you to check out the episode about Cerise & her heritage, as it expounds a bit on her heritage & how her ears should actually look -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMqSaOdBbGw

and her diary had a few tidbits too. While I really like my own Cerise I do wonder if the lack of custom ears was a cost cutting thing - Side note, if you remove the cape & smooth her hair down her back it should fit on her quite nicely without the use of the hood slit. (mine did at least!) - or if it's because the doll is implying that she's learned how to change her ears to a more human like appearance (ala dad). If nothing else, Cerise being a wolf hybrid/the first rebel, makes me curious as to how the MH wolfs or Cerise's family would translate if either visited the other's realm. Being that she's the proto-rebel I wonder how they'll use Cerise in the future or what is to become of her but I certainly hope that she'll be able to stand tall in her unique heritage and eventually lower both her guard and her hood :3

Good Morning Emily! I was excited to see your review posted for Cerise. I, too, though that her ears looked more elfin than lupine, and was expecting them to be on top of her head. The nonsense in the hood also drove me crazy trying to remove it - it was so unnecessary! I'm sorry to read that your Cerise did not make such a good first impression on you. I like her most of the dolls (from EAH) I have so far, as does the rest of my brood.

After I'd had her for a while, her outfit struck me as kind of Highland-ish, with the tassels and fringe on her boots and the tartan style pattern on the bodice of her dress. I don't know the background of the Little Red Riding Hood story, but I'm going to have to look into that now.

I must say, I think Cerise looks better with her bangs out of her face - thank you for the suggestion. They are a fraction shorter on my doll than on yours, but with all the hair away from her face, she's gorgeous - definitely much better looking than Apple! As an aside, every time I look at Apple, I think vampires. I don't know if it's her colouring or what, but that is what comes to mind.

My thoughts on the cape were that it should have been a little fuller, to allow for better protection from the elements. The hood is large enough, but the rest is a bit skimpy. And yes, it is stiff...I don't know if a fabric that draped nicely and behaved as it should would be able to stand up to regular play, though. Hmm, more ideas to follow up on!

Thank you so much for the review. I love seeing your thoughts and photographs.

I personally love Cerise, I like how she has a secert and to me her name is definetly better then some like Apple seriously why would Snow name her kid after something that she probably never ate ever again I mean if I were her just seeing an apple would bring back bad memories. Her ear is a bit disapointing but since they used the same face mold it might have been dificult to get the ear pointier. Anyway I have a real problem I ordered a doll set from Disney website and so far I have only gotten one email saying it was sent they said there would be anouther from UPS, but it's been over and there's been nothing any suggestions? This is my first tim efrom Disney so I didn't know what to execpt an dfrom what I've seen I won't be coming back anytime soon.

The concept/background of this character iffs me a little. I mean, she's the daughter of Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf? Those two, you know, got together and had her? I don't know, I think too hard about doll back stories sometimes....

She is real pretty though. I like her darker different color scheme, but she's not "WOW, I must have her!" Thanks for the review, I only have Apple White so far, and it's nice to see an in depth review on a doll I haven't seen in person yet. :)

http://www.madamealexander.com/product/719240/66890/_/Dressed_Like_Mommy_8-inch_Wendy_Dollhttp://extraspecialdolls.com/oscommerce2/catalog/index.php two totally unrelated dolls. Anyways, haha she does look like the New Girl girl, but nothing here that makes me want to buy her. Actually, I don't really like the EAH dolls much. Maybe if Jinafire switched schools.

She is gorgeous and reminds me of a friend of mine. I may have to get her in the near future.

Regarding her heritage (if this has been said before, I'm sorry; I haven't read all the comments) Ruby in Once Upon a Time and the movie Red Riding Hood both "Red's" turn into the wolf. It is her hood that keeps her from changing during the full moon. So completely believable to those familiar with those variations.

I love reading your doll reviews. I'm sorry a lot of people don't find Cerise's origin to their taste: however, in my book it sounds as plausible as wolves blowing down houses and talking pigs. In fact, another doll company (who I shall not name) is doing their own 'twisted fairy tales' line. They just released a doll called "The Wolf Knight", who is in combat with a fearsome female enemy who wears a 'red hood'. It wouldn't be the first time romance blossomed on a battlefield. I find that this is a problem that I have with all the EAH dolls: I'm more interested in their origins than in the actual characters.

Cerise's backstory with her wolf lineage is one of my favorite things in EAH :) Since the themes revolve around rigid traditions, unyielding expectations and safety in conforming vs. choosing one's own direction no matter how scary, uncertain and arduous it is, Big Bad Wolf being a family man shows him (and Red Ridinghood, Cerise's mother) as one of the secret rebels of the previous generation. It gives EAH some edge that tickles me. Also, it might be a nod to the origins of the story, where wolf wasn't seducing Red to only stray from the literal path in the woods. I'm interested in the evolution of fairy tales so this is another reason for my fascination with Cerise's story. And had Cerise taken her legacy vows, what kind of Red would she had turned out to be?

As for the cape, boy what a disappointment. Not surprising though, since Legacy Day Apple White's cape is made of an awful, stiff and plastic material as well. Such a pity! Cerise is expected to be in the next wave of Legacy Day dolls (along with Ashlynn and Maddie) and I so hope that her wintry, fur lined cape - as seen in the animation - will be better... but I fear not.

So far it seems that EAH has focused on the overall design of the outfit and accessories (for Maddie especially, to me that doll is pretty close to perfection in this series from her teacup hat and teaspoon earrings down to her gorgeous shoes!) but are being cheap with face molds, hair quality and especially the capes. With Cerise's outfit being so "simple", one would think they could have afforded to put more attention to her cape, but perhaps that money went to her different face mold... pity about the ears though. I'm still getting that doll, I've wanted Cerise as soon as I saw her. I'm glad that my expectations have been toned down by your fantastic review, though.

Haha, her story reminds me so much of Into the Woods, one of my favorite Stephen Sondheim musicals. In that story, it is implied that little red was well… assaulted by the wolf. Just listen to "Hello Little Girl" and "I know things now", you'll know what I mean. If you see the version on netflix, it's even more apparent with how atomically correct the wolf is… hahaha. I'm actually thinking about getting this doll after your review. Honestly I haven't really been impressed at all with the EAH line since it's release which is a big let down for me because I LOVE alternate Fairy Tale story lines, but the each doll just seems so bland. I think they have a soft hit with this one. She's more exotic looking and has some interesting characteristics the other dolls don't have. And she just simply reminds me of Into the Woods which is more than enough reason for me to get her. I'll just whip up another more high quality costume.

I like the doll for the most part, mainly the outfit. All the EAH doll faces take getting used to, but every time I see her I think, "God, her face!" I thought the same thing about Abbey and Spectra but I eventually got past it. At the end of the day, I think I'm just as satisfied having Clawdeen as Little Dead Riding Wolf. Maybe that's another reason why Mattel laid off of making her too wolf-like.

I just wanted to say it's strangely consoling to see you mention water in your doll's joint. When I deboxed my basic Apple White, she had a dark spot on her stockings by her knee and it was wet. It smelled like water, but I had no idea where it came from. I know it didn't come from me though, and my ceiling wasn't leaking, haha, but I dismissed it. I don't know what the weather was like when I bought it though, so I hope it was just condensation.

Hello Emily!Her wolf ears are MUCH wolfier (be so kind as to ignore the word I just created) in the webisode, something she definitely has to hide. If you're a two character kind of doll collector, I suggest Cerise Hood's Hat-tastic doll. I think her face is sweeter, and more photogenic. Have you seen her variation screening? I don't care for it, (people think she looks Asian, I say she looks like a little kid.) but I was wondering what your opinion was!

I look at reviews for cerise all the time and a lot dont seem to notice that her hands have little tiny claws. I looked at my raven and maddie and both of them dont seem to have and nail detail so I thought it was clever to add the little touch of nails. I just wish that instead of nails they gave her wolf ears like in the show >,<

I love Cerise and would love to get her someday! I picked up on her secret right away-my response was something like "Jeez, Cerise, could you possibly drop any more hints?! Just come out with it! People might freak out for like 3 days, but then they'll be like 'Eh, it's just Cerise getting wolfy again.'" I told my parents about her heritage-Mom agreed with me, but Dad was creeped out.-Nikki

Twitter!

Blog Feed (Feedly)

Flickr Photos

Followers

Follow by Email

Welcome to the blog!

This blog reviews and discusses dolls and toys that have caught my attention. You can use the search feature at the top of the page if you are looking for information on a specific type of doll.

I am not directly affiliated with any doll company or store, nor do I get any of the items I review for free. I have purchased all of these dolls and toys with my own money so that I can express my own opinions...of which I have many. :)

There are automatically-generated affiliate links enabled on this site, added by a company called Skimlinks. I do my best to keep these links relevant, but you'll probably see a few strange ones.

Please feel welcome to comment--I'd love to hear your own honest opinions of these dolls or your suggestions for things you'd like me to review.

Facebook

About Me

I have been many things so far in life--a veterinarian, a biology teacher, a sculptor, a writer, and (most proudly) a mother. I am also a toy enthusiast and an avid doll collector. I love animals of all kinds. I live with two poodles, a "ratahuahua," four parakeets and lots of cool fish. I have two amazing teenaged boys who, through the years, have helped fan the flames of my passion for toys. My husband's reluctant knowledge of dolls and wry sense of humor influence this blog in hidden and unexpected ways. My two nieces and two nephews have also been a constant source of pride and inspiration. I am amazed and relieved by how many kind, kindred spirits there are out in cyber space. Thank you for tuning in and being awesome.